GOOL, GOOLAM H.

Goolam H. Gool (1907-December 2, 1962) was a prominent Coloured politician, who aspired to the leadership of the South African Coloured community, a goal he never achieved. He was also associated with many “umbrella” groups which sought to unite black political organisations in South Africa.

PHOTO CAPTION: Goolam H. Gool. SOURCE: sahistory.org.za

He was born in Cape Town into a long-established Cape Indian family. After completing his medical education, he decided to make a career in politics. He became a disciple of Leon Trotsky, one of the founders of Bolshevism in Russia, who had been forced into exile by Stalin in 1929, and who was later murdered in Mexico. He first tried to become a leading Coloured politician, but soon abandoned this aim to concentrate on uniting existing political groups.

In 1935, with others, he founded the All African Convention (AAC). The African National Congress, the Communist Party of South Africa, and the Industrial and Commercial Workers’ Union, as well as “traditional” African leaders and Coloured leaders, were all represented in this group. After working with the AAC, in 1943 Gool organised the Anti-CAD, a group which boycotted the Coloured Affairs Department (CAD). In the same year, the Anti-CAD and the AAC adopted the “Draft Declaration of Unity” and the “Ten Point Programme,” thereby founding the Non-European Unity Movement (NEUM). Gool was elected a vice-chairman of the NEUM in 1944.

Gool never found his political niche. While he supported groups which aimed to increase cooperation among blacks, and thus hoped to gain rights, these groups achieved little change. He was an impressive organiser, but could not increase the political power of the black community.

LEONARD LESLIE BESSANT